Fitness to Practise Procedures

The procedures for handling An Application into the Fitness to Practise of a registered persons are laid down in Part 7 of the Veterinary Practice Act 2005. A useful Memorandum laying out these procedures have been developed. The following is a brief summary of the procedures. A complaint against a registered person must be made in writing and will be considered in the first instance by the Council's Preliminary Investigations Committee which assesses the allegation, the evidence to support it and any comments or observations which the registered person may have. The Council receives a report from the Committee on each complaint and if it decides that there is a case to answer will refer the complaint to the Fitness to Practise Committee. The Fitness to Practise Committee hears evidence from both sides and if it finds the registrant guilty it reports this to the Council. Council can impose a range of sanctions, up to and including erasure from the Register. The complaints tab will provide you with the details of how to make a complaint against a registered veterinary practitioner or veterinary nurse to the Council.